Companies to Avoid

“Novell pays us some money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SuSE Linux is appropriately covered.”

–Steve Ballmer

Brendan Scott has gathered an excellent collection of quotes which vividly illustrate how Microsoft treats GNU/Linux. It makes it very clear that Microsoft wishes to turn GNU/Linux (and more broadly — FOSS) into its very own cash cow. The means: changing of laws, extortion and a subtle form bribery (e.g. paying companies to sign unwanted deals). Among the quotes:

Microsoft’s recent history on patents (particularly since the Novell deal in November 06) has a particularly public persona:

Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith and licensing chief Horacio Gutierrez sat down with Fortune recently to map out their strategy for getting FOSS users to pay royalties. – Fortune

[...]

Mr. Ballmer once called Linux a form of intellectual-property cancer. While he has since dialed back the rhetoric, the subtext remains in nearly all Microsoft discussions of Linux: Use it, and you run the risk that Microsoft will sue you [for patent infringement]. Post-Gazette

[...]

“Linspire, Xandros and Turbolinux are not better off than Novell.”Linspire, Xandros and Turbolinux are not better off than Novell. Similar questions arose about Mandriva and JVC a few days ago, but these questions seem unfounded. At least 4 companies that do Linux devices signed deals which explicitly mention “Linux” or “Linux-related products” or “Linux-based Embedded Devices”. Those companies are, by name: LG, Fuji Xerox, Brother, Melco, Samsung, and Kyocera Mita. Some of them, including Samsung, deliver chips to other companies, so it’s worth paying careful attention to where ‘protected’ components are passed. Samsung is also pretty close Microsoft. █

Cumulative Update (2010): I-O Data also belongs in this list.Update (2011): HTC gave up in 2010 (over Android). Onkyo, General Dynamics Itronix, as well as Velocity Micro, gave up in the same week in June 2011. Then came Wistron in July. Acer and ViewSonic gave up in September. Then it was Casio. In October is was Quanta and then Compal, with Microsoft producing a figure to conceptualise this and create fear (claiming to tax most Android devices).